THE BEAST OF BOGGY CREEK: The True Story of the Fouke Monster by Lyle Blackburn Read Free Book Online

Smith claimed that his sister had first seen the creature way back around 1908 when she was just 10 years old. This pre-dated any previously reported sighting of the creature by almost 40 years. Smith went on to state that he himself had first seen the creature in 1955 near his house along Boggy Creek. “I thought he was a man. I shot at him 15 times with an Army rifle, but missed,” he told reporters.
    Despite the clamor of gunshots that the mystery creature experienced, it did not stop him from returning for an encore. Smith went on to add: “Next time he came up behind the house throwing chunks at my dog. So, I shot through the brush and missed him again.”
    Fortunately for the manimal, Smith was either drunk or the worst shot in Fouke.
    The next incident hit the papers on June 16, 1971. In the early morning hours, two local residents witnessed a creature, which fit the monster’s general description, “slouch” across a gravel road in front of their car. The road ran two miles south of Fouke, only a quarter mile from Smith’s bean field. Al Williams and A. L. Tipton, both residents of the rural community, reported the sighting to Sheriff Greer, saying that they were close enough to see that the creature was either a “small ape or large monkey.” Tipton stated that “it appeared to be about three or four feet tall as it crouched over and walked across the road.” Although the height estimation seems at odds with the usual seven-foot range, it did reinforce the theory of it being ape-like. If it was a real animal, then it likely had offspring, which could explain this creature’s smaller stature. Theories of all kinds abounded.
     

    Mayor Virgil Roberts holds an original 1971 track casting.
(Courtesy of Rick Roberts)
     
    Another Texarkana Gazette report from late June told how two men from Kansas stopped into town to ask about what kind of wild animals were thought to inhabit the area. Several of the Fouke locals figured the two men were joking about “the monster” and immediately laughed it off. But when the locals began to speak of their would-be beast, the men were shocked. They claimed to have no knowledge of the recent incidents. They were only concerned because they had seen some kind of peculiar looking two-legged animal standing by the side of the road. They may or may not have been pulling a fast one, but they were indeed from Kansas. One of the locals saw their car’s license plate.
     

    Willie Smith holding a trophy deer outside of
the Boggy Creek Café, circa 1975.
(Courtesy of the Miller County Historical Society)
     
    Another alleged sighting by outsiders was not reported to the news at the time. Only later did Sheriff Greer reveal that a group of several women and children, who had traveled to the area to look at the tracks in the soybean field, reported seeing an ape-like creature nearby.
    The monster also inspired some pranks, as such things tend to do. On June 28, three local Fouke men claimed that they were attacked by the creature, showing claw marks as evidence. But when Sheriff Greer noticed traces of blood under their fingernails, the truth came out that the men had simply been drunk and got into a fight amongst themselves. He threatened to arrest them but instead fined them $59 each for filing the bogus monster report.
    In addition to the regional newspapers, some of the stories were also picked up by the associated news services, which allowed them to be reprinted in papers around the country. Outside reporters began to tie in other Arkansas strangeness as they covered the subject. One subject they brought up was the legendary White River Monster of the Ozark Mountains. Described as a 30-40 foot water serpent, this would be the equivalent of the Loch Ness Monster living in northern Arkansas. Though obviously more of a stretch on any believability scale, it did nonetheless serve to heighten the monster mania.
    By this time, the Fouke Monster was basking in the limelight of